The Space in Between
by xSwisha
Summary: AU After a rather silly breakup Hermione hasn't been in a relationship for almost a year. Her mother has had enough and decides to set her up on a blind date.
1. Space in Between

NOTES: Ok, so this is actually a short story i had to write to go along with a University Application i did a few months back, but it was done with a bunch of original characters, as opposed to the HP universe. I decided i would make the changes to it and make it into a HP story for you guys, the HP/HG shippers anyway.

The plot itself flips back and forth between the present and the past, the past is shown in_ italics._ So it should be obvious.

This is AU, They could both be magic i suppose, but there is no mention of it, and if you want to think of them as magic then Hermione and Harry never knew each other at Hogwarts.

Thanks for reading.

Hermione paced back and forth in front of her mirror for no particular reason. It wasn't that she was stressed or worried, she was angry. She was angry because her mother had taken the liberty of arranging a date for her behind her back, a blind date.

"I mean really, a blind date?! I didn't even know that was still a thing" she complained finally stopping her marching to question her pet cat, Crookshanks, which was staring up at her from his usual spot on the bed.

"Honestly, the least she could have done was ask me first!" She ranted, pushing her brown fringe away from her eyes and thinking back on the conversation from yesterday morning.

"_I'm fine mother! Really, it hasn't been that long since my last relationship." she lied, more to herself than anyone else._

_Leaning forward and sighing, her mother announced "Hermione Granger! You're 21 now and it's been nearly nine months..."_

_Although she knew exactly how long it had been since her last relationship, hearing someone else say it out loud did nothing but serve to irritate her._

"_Well, yes but..." she whined before being interrupted._

"_Yes nothing, it's time to move on, I'm sorry but considering you never speak to me about these things especially concerning your ex, whomever he was!" she scoffed "I've taken matters into my own hands." Leaning back into her chair and reaching into her bag she pulled out a small piece of paper. "Here, I set this up with a friend of mine who happens to have a son who is seemingly as stubborn as you are." she continued, pushing the slip of paper across the small table._

"_You have to be joking?" Hermione spluttered almost spitting out the tea she just took a sip from._

"_Of course not, I trust you can find your own way there" standing up she went on "I'll be there as well, initially at least." _

_Hermione could do nothing more than sit open mouthed in shock and a small degree of amazement as her mother promptly collected her things and said goodbye._

Snapping herself out of her memories, Hermione picked up the piece of paper her mother had given her checking it for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day. "7:30, The Regent…" she mumbled to herself.

Spinning around, she studied herself in the mirror, grimacing at the way her long bushy hair was almost uncontrollable, a trait that never ceased to annoy her every time she inspected herself, Gazing into her own brown doe-eyes she recalled that 'he' used to say along with her eyes her hair was her best feature, curl and all. 'He' was Hermione's ex, a man named Harry Potter.

_Walking into the restaurant he had booked for them almost a month in advance, she stood back a little as he walked forward to announce himself and his booking to the gaudy looking man in charge, as the man scanned through his ledger for their names, Harry turned around and winked at her cheekily._

"_Are you ok?" he whispered rather intimately into her ear._

_Hiding her blush as it crept along her cheeks she nodded back, almost losing herself in his frighteningly emerald green eyes. She couldn't get enough of simply looking at him, His perfectly sculpted face, His messy black hair, His strong yet lithe frame, But most of all, His perfect emerald eyes._

_She swore she could get lost in those eyes if she spent enough time looking, as a result she would often quickly look away from him, blushing profusely, making her seem like an innocent teenager despite her respectable 20 years of age._

_Snapped out of her thoughts by the gaudy looking man politely asking them to follow him to their table, Harry gently put his hand around her waist pulling her close and ushering her forward. By time they had reached the table another blush had already made its home upon her face and she had to take a moment to school her features back into normalcy as she sat down into the chair he politely pulled out for her._

_Glancing around the restaurant she noticed everyone looked exceptionally well-to-do, explaining why it took a month to get a reservation and making her wonder just how much eating at a place like this cost. Looking forwards again she blanched slightly noticing 3 different types of spoon, fork and knife. The chairs were fancy, the tables were fancy, hell and even the coasters were fancy._

_She already knew that he intended to pay for it all himself, After they had a small argument about the cost earlier in the evening, which he won, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it, she wasn't the kind of girl who expected such traditional treatment and was more than willing to pull her weight, so to speak. _

_However after getting here and seeing the obviously high standards of the place she was beginning to be thankful that she wasn't paying for it. Reaching for the menu that was carefully laid in front of her and carefully opening it up, her eyes widened and she blanched again as she saw some of the prices._

"_Are you ok?" Harry questioned for the second time that evening._

"_I'm fine, sorry" Not wanting to bring up a subject they had already argued over once before she lied "It's my hair," turning her head slightly "It's just horrible, bushy and uncontrollable. It irritates me to no end."_

_Amused he looked on for a little while, thinking she had already scared him off with her pointless information she started "Umm, forget it, I don't know why I…"_

"_I think it's cute." He interrupted her._

_The blush was back, in full force this time, "Thanks" she tersely responded not trusting her ability to try and form a sentence larger than a single word._

Making her decision, Hermione turned around and made her way towards the shower.

Stepping out ten minutes later, clad in only a towel, she moved over to her wardrobe to begin the arduous task of deciding on an outfit for the night, Pulling out a red dress she looked it up and down before throwing it back into its place in the wardrobe deciding that it was far too showy for a first date.

Pulling out a black one piece dress with a simple sequenced pattern she considered it for a moment before taking it and placing it down onto her bed, ignoring the dress for a moment, Hermione picked up the phone and dialled for a taxi.

"Hi, can I get a taxi booked for seven fifteen please? Yes. Thank you." Putting down the phone she walked back over to her dress, picking it up and staring sadly at it for a while.

_Hermione woke up in the morning and rolled over, her eyes still closed, When she noticed Harry wasn't next to her, she slowly sat up rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Hearing noise come from her kitchen she got up and made her way over. _

"_Good morning!" He said turning around, handing her a plate with pancakes on and giving her the goofiest smile she had ever seen._

"_Morning, Thanks." she grumbled back. "Why are you so chipper?" she asked taking a seat and digging into her breakfast._

"_No reason in particular." he laughed, shooting her another one of those grins which any other time of the day would send her weak in the knees._

_Instead, mainly due to her morning grogginess, she only managed a roll of the eyes in return "Right."_

"_Okay, well I've got to get to work, so I'll pick up you up at about seven for dinner, Alright?" he asked leaning down to kiss her._

"_Alright." She mimicked "I'll see you then" she beamed at him before turning her attention back to her breakfast._

_Leaving her with one more of those beautiful lopsided grins he shouted from the doorway "Oh and I left you a gift in the closet."_

_A few minutes later, after he had left, pondering what the gift might be, she stood up and made her way towards the bedroom. They hadn't been together for long but they were already at the stage of staying at the others house on occasion._

_Opening her closet door she noticed an extravagant looking black box, pulling it out and placing it down she slowly undid the surrounding ribbon and opened it up. Staring open mouthed she laughed in amazement as she pulled out the most beautiful black one piece dress, complete with a simple sequenced pattern, she had ever seen._

Hermione applied the finishing touches to her makeup before turning around and checking herself in the mirror, having decided to go with the dress despite the memories she still holds to it.

Hearing the horn of the taxi signal its arrival, she quickly paced over to the other side of the room, grabbing her purse and checking to make sure she left some food out for her cat.

Making it out of her flat and building without much trouble she clambered in the back of the taxi, noting the driver spending a little too long looking at her in the rear-view mirror.

Determined not to make it a bigger deal than it needed to be she redirected his attention "The Regent please."

As the driver turned his attention to the road, she began to think about the last time she wore the dress 'he' bought her.

_They were back in the restaurant that they had first visited around a month ago on one of their first dates. _

"_You know, that dress does look delectable on you, seems I have good taste for female clothing" he chuckled, taking a sip of his drink._

_They had been together for long enough now that his remarks, that always managed to have some form of disarming affect, didn't affect her as much as they once had, still, she couldn't stop a small blush creeping up her cheeks as she replied "Thanks, it really is beautiful."_

_Putting down his drink he began seriously "So listen I've got something important to ask you."_

_Noting his serious tone she sat up a little straighter "Ok, ask away." she quickly replied_

_Hesitating for a moment before he shook his head and started "Alright, so I've been promoted at work," _

_Her eyebrows rose, not understanding why he was suddenly acting all serious like this when normally he was carefree about practically everything. He continued in the same serious tone. "But the problem is if I take the job it involves moving."_

"_To where?" she inquired, beginning to worry._

"_New York, But here's the thing, I want you to come with me" he announced_

_Hermione wasn't usually left speechless, but in this particular situation she had no idea how to even react, never mind what to say in response._

"_I know it's sudden and crazy and selfish and I have no right to spring something like this on you but I think we can do it." He almost pled, tripping over his words slightly._

"_I can't, I can't just leave there are things here I can't leave behind so easily, friends, family. I mean, what about my job!" She groaned out almost begging him to understand_

"_You can get a new job, new friends..." he began_

"_It isn't that easy." She interrupted_

_Silence fell over the table, their heated discussion attracting a few onlookers. After what seemed like an eternity he almost snapped at her "So that's it then?"_

"_I can't ask you to give up the job for me" she reasoned "But I can't go with you, I'm sorry" she apologised, giving him a sad smile._

_He looked at her, the hurt shining strong in his bright eyes, before he got up and said, in a tone that sounded like it was from a different person. "I should have expected this from you; I was warned that you were just here for the money I had, I should have listened, what is it? Is this in too deep for you?!" He almost shouted still in an unbearably cold voice._

_Upon hearing the harsh remarks, she immediately stood up and slapped him hard, angry tears in her eyes, horrified that a night that started so well had gone so badly so quickly._

"_Goodbye." She said almost emotionless, despite the tears running freely down her face._

_She knew he was incredibly hurt from her denying his request, but lashing out in that way, accusing her of things they both knew were not anywhere close to the truth, she had lost it herself and stormed out leaving him with a stunned expression. As she left she swore she saw tears in his eyes almost as if he had said what he said deliberately, pushing her away from the decision she couldn't make._

Back in the taxi Hermione recalled how he had immediately followed her home, begging for her to forgive him and that he didn't want to go to New York if it meant he had to go alone. For nearly four weeks straight he tried every way he could to contact her, going to her home, phoning her, texting her, catching her going to or leaving work and even using her friends to pass on messages. She knew he didn't mean what he said in the restaurant; she knew it almost immediately after he had said it. It didn't stop it from hurting though.

It was nothing but her stubbornness and pride that was stopping her from talking things through with him, even though all she wanted to do was let him in and jump into his arms. After four weeks she had gotten used to him trying though, but it wasn't until he stopped trying, leaving her with a note that simply said 'I'm sorry.' that she realised what she, thanks to her stubborn pride, had lost.

Arriving at its destination the taxi stopped, Hermione climbed out and paid the driver, ignoring the way he looked at her again, before heading into the restaurant and asking for the reservation her mother had booked under her name.

The Waiter beckoned her to follow and she did, turning around a corner she saw her mother sat down chatting excitedly with someone familiar. Standing on the spot in amazement for second she knew that she was certainly not going to waste this second chance as she stepped forward staring straight into a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes and breathed:

"Hello."


	2. Second Chance

**The Space in Between: A Second Chance**

_The Waiter beckoned her to follow and she did, turning around a corner she saw her mother sat down chatting excitedly with someone familiar. Standing on the spot in amazement for second she knew that she was certainly not going to waste this second chance as she stepped forward staring straight into a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes and breathed "Hello."_

Hermione stood still for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes never leaving his. She watched as his own eyes stared at her in amazement before he quickly moved onto what looked like pure happiness, giving her the smile that she had longed for, a smile that was so exclusively Harry, a smile that she decided she would never let go of again…

"Hermione." He whispered as he stood up from his seat.

"Harry." She choked out, tears forming in her eyes a little shocked at how much she had missed him and how relieved she was to have found him again.

The two stood there for a few moments just drinking each other in after such a long time, he hadn't changed much. He was still the same Harry she had lost.

They were both snapped out of their trances by Hermione's mother grumbling "Is anyone going to tell me what exactly is going on!?"

"This is Harry, Harry Potter. Mum, this is the person I told you about, from before." She replied, while smiling at Harry.

"You mean from nine months ago?" she gasped.

Before she could reply Harry replied with a sad "That's me."

Suddenly it felt like an enormous wave of emotion had crashed into them both as they remembered why exactly they had broken up and the resulting aftermath. Their prior happiness at having met each other again after so long evaporating, replaced by an uneasy sense of nervousness.

Seeing the sudden change in the two people in front of her Hermione's mother announced "Well, I imagine you've got a lot to talk about. I'll be off then!" She promptly picked up her bag and walked over to Hermione and whispered into her ear "Second chance, don't let him go again."

"Mother…" Hermione whispered back.

"I know, I know, Good night darling, take care of her for me Harry" she smirked at them both.

Then they were alone.

Neither certain about what how exactly they should be acting, until Harry, remembering himself, pulled out a seat and asked less than gracefully "Uhh, Would you like a seat Hermione?"

She thanked him and sat down, still feeling insurmountably nervous.

Deciding that she was going to assert herself for once she quickly asked him "So how are things?"

"I'm ok, pretty much the same, What about you?" He answered while sitting down across from her and thinking to himself _"Utterly miserable without you in my life."_

Hermione was a little irritated that he had been fine while she had been an absolute wreck for nearly 9 months, although she would never admit it, so she said a little spitefully "Great, I've been amazing actually!"

She immediately regretted it as she looked up into his beautifully green eyes and saw hurt radiating out of them.

"Really, that's good." He said with a bad attempt at approval, again his thoughts spoke the truth _"Amazing? What the hell?! Did it even affect her? Does she have a boyfriend?" _his mind going a hundred miles an hour _"No she can't, why would she come here if she did, maybe she doesn't want to be here. But she looked so happy earlier?!"_

"Yeah..."she replied, beginning to feel really uncomfortable.

"Yeah…" he mimicked sadly, picking up the menu.

Nothing but silence passed between the two as they ordered their food and drinks, both focusing their attention on anything but each other. It wasn't until a smartly dressed young man brought their drinks over that the silence was broken.

Deciding that enough is enough Harry started "Hermione," She looked up and he continued "I know that we left it in a pretty messed up state and we that we never sorted it out or apologized."

At this moment the exact same thing went through both of their minds, although neither voiced it. "_It was my fault entirely; I shouldn't have been so proud and just apologized."_

Harry decided to follow his own advice about pride and said "So instead, I want to start over, I really missed you."

The last four words he spoke tore at Hermione's heart and tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes as she spoke "I don't know, it was difficult for me Harry, I don't want to experience something like that again." Her mind meanwhile was waging a war with itself, one side wanting nothing but to let him back in and another side, her always logical side trying to think of reasons to keep him away. "_Listen to your mother, you even said it yourself, don't waste this second chance!" The logical side quickly fired back with "Don't do it, tell him off and leave, he'll only hurt you again!" _

Shaking her thoughts away she looked into his eyes, those wonderful eyes, seeing the desperation for her to agree and try again with him shining back at her.

"But, I missed you too, Harry. So much" she almost whimpered as the tears began to flow.

His eyes widened in shock, before his features swiftly settled on pure bliss. He rushed to his feet, pushing his chair back, creating a dull screech as it ground along the floor. Not caring a single bit as he rushed around the table and embraced Hermione, pulling her to her feet as he did so.

Nearly the entirety of the restaurant were openly staring now, but neither cared as they stood there in each other's embrace, Hermione openly crying in happiness and Harry whispering sweet nothings into her ear as he held back his own tears.

"I missed you so much" she cried into his shoulder.

"I know. I missed you too" he choked out, his barrier breaking, the tears falling.

All over the restaurant people suddenly started clapping, remembering themselves they pulled apart and Hermione laughed; wiping her tears away "I think people think we just got engaged."

Not for the first time that night Harrys eyes widened in shock, before he looked around and chuckled saying "Not quite I'm afraid… Not yet anyway."

Hermione's heart soared as she processed what he just said, her mind immediately envisioning a wonderful future married to Harry.

"Sir, Madam. Your food is ready" the voice of the same young man who had served them drinks said, settling their plates into position.

"Oh right, of course" they both replied, turning to smile at each other as they said the same thing.

Harry moved back across the table and sat down as Hermione took her own seat and the waiter left.

"So I'm serious, I want to start again with you." Harry seriously stated.

"I know, I want to as well." She earnestly replied.

"Well let's start right at the beginning then, let's do this right." He replied much more light-heartedly before continuing with a smirk "Hello, I'm Harry Potter, and who might you be?"

Hermione laughed at him and replied "Hello Harry Potter, I'm Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you!"

Harry shot back quickly with "Likewise Miss Granger, tell me about yourself"

She laughed at him again, knowing full well he already knew almost everything about her and replied in an odd upbeat voice "Well I went to a private school in southern France called Beauxbaton Academy when I was younger, and right now I work as a Doctor in a place called St. Mungo's, but enough about me Mr Potter, what about you!"

Barely able to contain their giggling Harry laughed out in the same odd upbeat tone "Well I too went to a private school, but this one was in Scotland and called Hogwarts, I'm now a specialized kind of detective for the police."

After they calmed down from their laughing fits Hermione remembered the reason why they had broken up in the first place. "Harry, what happened to that job in America you had? Did you go?"

"I did eventually, but I was only there for 2 months, in truth I missed you too much, so I came back, even though I knew we were finished, just being in the same city as you was enough for me."

Hermione's heart soared again at his words knowing that he came back for her.

Harry continued "But then my mum got in contact with me, telling me she had set me up on a blind date with one of her friends' daughters! I couldn't believe it, I was furious I couldn't believe it!"

"The exact same thing happened to me, I couldn't believe the cheek of her!" she chuckled.

Harry grinned happily before speaking again "Well, I WAS furious, I was told to get here and 'the girl's mother will be there to introduce you both to each other, seen as she set it all up' was what she said."

"I'm glad she did." Hermione said smiling brilliantly at him.

They stared into each others eyes for a while, completely content, until Harry finally broke the silence and breathed,

"Yeah, I just remember turning around, hearing your voice, looking into your beautiful eyes and that wonderful smile and thinking to myself, 'there is no way I'm going to waste this second chance.'"

* * *

Notes: _Hey lookie that they thought the same thing, cute. _Haha, Whats up people, Hella love to everybody who read my first foray into the world of Fan Fiction, I appreciate it so much, Those guys who reviewed, Know that you made me incredibly happy by showing such positivity towards my writing, you've no idea how uplifting it is. I wrote this especially for you guys, even though i said i wasn't going to do a follow up for it. It's not as long as the first piece and i don't think its as good, but I'm happy enough with it.

For those wondering, i did get into university with the first piece but i still gotta work hard to get my grades. As a result most of my time is spent studying and working towards my goal, so i only really get weekends to write this stuff. I've been thinking about a story, again involving H/HR, but this time much more magic focused. (You'll notice i tried to inject a little familiarity into this chapter, unlike the first) The basic premise is that after beating Voldemort, Harry vanished, an undecided amount of time later (at least a few years) Harry mysteriously comes back. There isn't any specific details yet, but tell me what you think. (It's been done before i know, but I'll try and make it unique!


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